Inner Child
by Miss Mungoe
Summary: She is a brat, and he's never been good with children. Kensei/Mashiro.


AN: Because she's reckless to a fault, and he's a worrier. Sort of a companion-piece to 'an inclination for being troublesome'.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters – it belongs to Kubo Tite.

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**Inner Child**

**by Miss Mungoe **

He'd never been good with kids.

Mashiro has always told him it was because he looks so scary, and that he needs to loosen up and smile more if he wants to get along with them. To that, he'd told her he didn't really give a crap what cheeky little pests thougt about him. He'd asked her what the hell he needed to get along with kids for, and that he'd look as scary as he damned well pleased. He didn't like them, anyway. Bothersome creatures, that's what they were. All they did was drool, ask questions and whine about this and that, day and night. Their only purpose in life was to grow up, and some couldn't even do _that. _Hell, he should know, he worked with one.

The girl really was annoying sometimes. Never taking anything seriously, as though life was just one big game. Bursting with confidence, she didn't fight her enemies – she _toyed_ with them. Twirled and bounced and _played _on the battlefield like a kid gone crazy at some see saw on a playground. And all the while Kensei wanted nothing more than to grab her and give her a good, thorough shake, yell a well-deserved lecture on how she needed to _grow the hell up_ and start taking things seriously before she got herself killed. But of course she'd only laugh and call him _boring,_ that he was taking things _too_ _seriously_ and that he needed to lighten up a little. Because as children are prone to ignore their parents, Mashiro hardly ever listened to her superiors, former or otherwise.

He often found himself wondering if she would always be like this, if he was going to have to keep stealing glances in her direction during every battle, just to make sure she wasn't getting herself killed because her ridiculous self-confidence knew no bounds. He wanted to yell at her to stop being reckless, wanted to tell her to just…stop. Go away. _Far away_. Somewhere safe. So he wouldn't have to worry so damn much. So that he could focus clearly on his own fight without wondering whether or not she was still alive.

Because as long as she insisted on playing her little games and refused to take things seriously, Kensei would never stop worrying.

The sliver of a memory flashed before his eyes – of a night many, many decades ago now. It had been after their first attempt at harnessing the darkness within them, locked far below the earth in Urahara's old basement. He remembered it clearly because she hadn't reacted to their changes with fear and contempt like the others. No, Mashiro had embraced her fate and newfound powers and dealt with them the way she dealt with everything in her afterlife. With childlike elation and complete disregard for her own safety.

She'd caught on quickly, though. Much, much quicker than the rest of them, and like a child, developed a somewhat…_friendly_ relationship with her hollow. Her new abilities had been thrilling, the speed in particular, Kensei remembered. She'd loved it, and while the others had struggled with simply _conversing_ with their hollows, Mashiro had bounced around with glee, having had seemingly no problems at all keeping hers in control.

Needless to say, Kensei had been furious.

"_Do you honestly think it's supposed to be this easy?! It's a hollow, damn it! It's not yer friend! Ya lose control once – __**once**, __Mashiro_ – _and it'll be the last thing you do! Do you understand?! This isn't a child's game!"_

He'd regretted the words the minute they'd rolled off his tongue, as he'd known they would hurt. And she'd retorted angrily, tears swimming in her enormous eyes, that _yes,_ she understood perfectly well what he was getting at, but that she couldn't help it if her hollow was nice and friendly and not grumpy and uncooperative like his own _stupid_ hollow, and that her naiveté and confidence wasn't _her_ problem, it was _his_. Then she'd stalked off, slammed the door behind her and proceeded to give him the silent treatment for three days straight, during which Kensei had been vividly reminded of how terrible he was when it came to dealing with children.

In the end she had found his attempts at apologizing so amusing she'd forgiven him, kissed his cheek and told him he was being silly, and that she knew what she was doing. And he'd given in, albeit with the reluctance of a natural sceptic, but he'd never been good at denying her anything, anyway. And she never listened to him either, so what the hell could he have done but agree?

In the end, it had turned out she was a natural when it came to dealing with her inner darkness, and compared to the rest of them, who spent years practising just to keep their bloody masks on, Mashiro didn't even need to make an effort. And when Lisa had demanded to know how the hell she was able to keep it up for so long, she'd given the older girl a cheeky, Mashiro-patented smile.

'I play games with her, Lisa!' she'd quipped, grinning cheekily at Kensei before bouncing off, oozing confidence.

And Kensei had watched, a weary look on his face, wondering sombrely if that confidence would one day be her downfall, and swearing to whatever greater force listening he'd be there when it happened, because he'd be damned if she got herself killed because of her own recklessness after all his lectures. She'd called him stupid when he brought it up again, and told him to stop worrying so much. If he needed to worry, she'd said, he should worry about one of the others, who were actually having problems with their hollows. _She _knew what she was doing.

And being physically unable to resist those eyes, and the cold hard facts staring him in the face, Kensei had given in, just like he always did, knowing it was bound to come back and bite him in the ass one day.

…

He _really_ needed to stop jinxing himself.

These were the unwanted thoughts racing through his mind as he watched the familiar insect-like mask crumble to pieces, revealing a startled face and a pair of shocked, grey eyes, and had he been alive his heart would have stopped in his chest at the sight.

He was running before she could open her mouth to curse.

"Time's up?"

She sounded so _genuinely_ surprised, Kensei felt like screaming. He'd told her to take off her mask, to take a break before her time was up. _He'd told her,_ like he always did, and she'd ignored his orders, like _she_ always did, and assured him that she was fine, that she knew what she was doing and that she could keep it going all night.

And he'd given in. Like always.

And now, as he held onto her lifeless form with one arm, the other raised to block the attack from the creepy-as-hell arrancar-brat she'd been fighting – _that he'd let her fight_ – Kensei couldn't help but curse himself and his damn inability to resist her childlike charms. He should have made her take a break, should have ignored her damn fearlessness, should have given her that last menos grande and taken care of the brat himself. He _should_ have done a lot of things, but all he could really do now was protect her.

And beat the living daylights out of the little shit in front of him.

_Y__ou better not die, ya foolish idiot_, he thought. _I still owe ya another lecture for not listening to me!_

And as he faced off with the eerie-looking brat before him, desperately willing the still form on his arm to stir, move, breathe, give him _any_ sign that she was still _alright_, Kensei was suddenly glad he didn't like kids. It'd be a lot harder to maim the punk if he did. He was also glad he wasn't a pansy like Juushiro, who'd refuse to fight a child because of principles. Kensei didn't give a fuck about principles. And he didn't give a fuck about kids either. What he did give a fuck about was that the brat before him got a real ass-kicking. His hollow was far from an inner child, but for once, he conceded, he would take her advice to heart.

An almost sadistic smirk settled on his lips, and he tightened his hold around Mashiro's waist.

"Hey, brat. Let's play a game."

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AN: Knight-in-shining-armor!Kensei, GO!


End file.
